BA 3080 Business
Professionalism and Character
Daniel Peat
Caveat up
front
•
This is not a sociology or political science class
– We will discuss social identity theory and political
spectrums to give a baseline understanding only
•
This is a business class
– We are predominantly interested in how sociopolitical
ideologies enter and affect the workforce
– What impacts do politics have on organizations and
decision making
– We will focus on the US, because these concepts get
even more complicated in international contexts
• …but, many of the theories are still applicable,
especially in democracies
Some quick definitions…
•
Organizational politics aka office
politics
–
“informal, unofficial, and sometimes
behind-the-scenes efforts to sell ideas,
influence an organization, increase
power, or achieve other targeted
objectives”
•
Political affiliation
– “activities associated with the
governance of a country or other
area, especially the debate or
conflict among individuals or parties
having or hoping to achieve power”
Social Identity theory oversimplified
Where is political
affiliation?
Here or possibly here
If political affiliation
isn’t even important
enough to be
mentioned, why talk
about it in a class on
inclusion?
Why talk about political diversity? (Westwood et al, 2017)
•
•
Sample of 4,164 people from US, UK,
Belgium, and Spain
Racial and cultural heritage are selfdefining characteristics for Americans
–
•
Other strongly held identities include language and
religious preference
Political affiliation is a stronger attachment
than gender, race, religion, language and
ethnicity
–
–
Discrimination based on political affiliation stronger
In-group vs out-group conditions more
predominant
Why political affiliation is a stronger
identity than other social identities
• Who you support politically is a choice, while factors like race and
ethnicity are assigned at birth
– Deliberate decision for individuals
– A choice that reflects more accurately who someone is
– More informative of attitudes and beliefs
• While social norms dictate behavior for interacting with different
races, religions, and genders…
– Few constraints on being hostile to opposing political views (e.g. –
disparaging terms)
Hostility Examples
No federal protections for political views
Why talk
about
political
diversity?
• 1st Amendment protects against governmental retaliation
• Some states protect political activities (See here)
• Other states protect legal activities outside of workplace
Filter bubbles
• Overwhelming noise (too many people/much information)
• We filter using technology and let in what we want to let in
• Like me bias; confirmation bias
• Some technologies (i.e. Tik tok, Facebook, twitter) also perform
this filter outside of our control
• Leads to more extremism in viewpoints and less tolerance of other’s
viewpoints
Many companies participate in political action
committees (PACs) based on company interests
Benefits
and
challenges
of a
politically
diverse
workforce
•
Benefits (besides the ones identified
in the inclusion lecture)
– Enhances creativity, discovery,
and problem solving
–
–
–
Prevents feelings of isolation,
unhappiness which ultimately
hurt employer brand
Employees learn how to
communicate differing beliefs
and values while being
respectful (theoretically)
More focus on facts than
rhetoric or biased opinions
•
Challenges
–
Political differences can
create as much tension in the
workplace as they do in
society
–
Can lead to highly toxic
workplaces
–
Require clear guidelines to
maintain respect and civility
–
Not protected by any federal
regulations
Benefits/Challenges illustrated
• When attempting to increase the number of vaccinated
people in the country, who did the WH bring in to
influence unvaccinated individuals?
– How effective do you think this would be?
Benny Drama
Olivia Rodrigo
US Politics – oversimplified
Nolan Chart
Political Diversity of Workers by Profession in US
Source https://www.businessinsider.com/charts-show-the-political-bias-of-each-profession-2014-11
Key Takeaways
• Sociopolitical views are a strong identity often
overlooked in social identity theory and not protected
by federal law
• Sociopolitical diversity in organizations brings benefits
and challenges
• It is important to at least be aware of the sociopolitical
tendencies in industries/organizations in your career
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